New Developments on Signal Transduction Research

Signal transduction plays a pivotal role in cell regulation.

Hormones, cytokines and neurotransmitters bind to their specific receptors in the plasma membranes of cells.

The receptors of many hormones are coupled to G-protein coupled signalling pathways.

Insulin and growth factors are coupled to receptor-linked kinase.

The second messenger is generated in cells once the first messenger binds to the receptors of plasma membranes.

Cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cyclic AMP), inositol 1,3,5-triphosphate (IP3) and calcium ion (Ca2+) have been demonstrated to play a role as a second messenger in cells.

The pivotal role of Ca2+ in cellular regulation was established with the finding of calmodulin and protein kinase C that modulates the effect of Ca2+ in the regulation of cellular functions.

Many receptor classes and their downstream kinases activate Erk, Akt, Stat, Smad, NF- B and other cascades to regulate gene expression and cellular function.

This book provides recent research in the study of the new developments in signalling transduction in cells.